Kyrie Irving, vegan since 2017. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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In 2017, Kyrie Irving was already one of the best ball-handlers the game had ever seen. Then he watched a documentary, and his diet, and by his own account his body, changed. He cut out every animal product and hasn’t looked back. When people ask “is Kyrie Irving vegan,” the answer is a clean yes, and he’s been one of the NBA’s most visible plant-based stars ever since.
He’s so committed that his team once flew in a personal chef to prepare his vegan meals during Ramadan. That’s a franchise organizing around one player’s plate.
QUICK ANSWER
Yes, Kyrie Irving is vegan, since 2017. He's kept the diet through every team change, and as of the 2025/26 season, when he's sidelined rehabbing an ACL injury, there's no sign it's changed. His employer literally caters to it.
Last fact-checked: July 7, 2026
The documentary that rewired his diet
Like several athletes on this list, Kyrie’s switch traces to What the Health, the 2017 documentary. He cut out animal products, and the way he describes the result reads like an ad he wasn’t paid for, via LiveKindly: “I feel absolutely amazing. More energy, sharper, and more focused than ever before. I’m a new person, and it shows on the court.”
There’s an ethical layer too, which he’s put more bluntly than most athletes bother to: “Getting away from the animals and all that, I had to get away from that. So my energy is up, my body feels amazing.” That’s not just a performance diet talking. That’s someone who thought about where food comes from.
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Then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he goes fully plant-based and credits it for more energy and sharper focus.
Around 2019: Beyond Meat
He becomes an investor in Beyond Meat, joining a wave of pro athletes backing plant-based meat.
2020: 200,000 burgers
During the pandemic he donates 200,000 Beyond Burgers to a New York City food bank, plus cash and partnerships to fight food insecurity.
2023: the Ramadan chef
With the Dallas Mavericks, the team flies in a private chef to prepare his vegan meals to break his fast after sunset during Ramadan.
March 2025: the injury
He tears his ACL. He'll sit out the entire 2025/26 season rehabbing, targeting a 2026/27 return, still plant-based throughout.
Plants and philanthropy
What separates Kyrie from a purely performance-vegan is where the diet led him. He put real money and food behind it: 200,000 Beyond Burgers to New York City during COVID, thousands of vegan meals for unhoused people in Los Angeles with a chef, an investor stake in Beyond Meat. The plate became a platform.
One honest note, because we don’t overclaim: nobody, including Kyrie, has credibly tied his ACL recovery to his diet. He stayed vegan through the rehab; he didn’t claim plants healed the ligament. We’ll leave the miracle stories to other sites.
Fact or fiction?
His NBA team arranged a vegan chef for him during Ramadan. Fact or fiction?
Fact. The Mavericks flew in a private chef to prep his vegan post-sunset meals.
He donated 200,000 Beyond Burgers during the pandemic. Fact or fiction?
Fact. To a New York City food bank in 2020, plus a cash donation.
He went vegan for a bet. Fact or fiction?
Fiction. He went vegan in 2017 after watching the documentary What the Health.
Quiz: how well do you know vegan Kyrie?
Five questions, no cheating
1. What documentary made him go vegan?
2. What year did he switch?
3. Which plant-based company did he invest in?
4. What did his team do for his Ramadan meals?
5. How many Beyond Burgers did he donate in 2020?
Is Kyrie Irving still vegan in 2026?
Yes. He’s sidelined this season with an ACL injury, not a diet change, and his veganism has held through Cleveland, Boston, Brooklyn and Dallas. Nine years in, plant-based is just how Kyrie eats, and his team plans around it.
His NBA team arranged a vegan chef for him during Ramadan. Fact or fiction? Fact. The Mavericks flew in a private chef to prep his vegan post-sunset meals. He donated 200,000 Beyond Burgers during the pandemic. Fact or fiction? Fact. To a New York City food bank in 2020, plus a cash donation. He went vegan for a bet. Fact or fiction? Fiction.
Is Kyrie Irving still vegan in 2026?+
Yes. He’s sidelined this season with an ACL injury, not a diet change, and his veganism has held through Cleveland, Boston, Brooklyn and Dallas. Nine years in, plant-based is just how Kyrie eats, and his team plans around it. More vegan celebrity checks: Is Chris Paul vegan? The NBA’s other plant eater Is Lewis Hamilton vegan? Plants at 300 km/h Is Venus Williams vegan?
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